Usain Bolt expected to inspire and draw more travellers to book Jamaica holidays

The Jamaican Tourist Board has expressed confidence that the heightened popularity of the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, will result in an increase in the number of travellers booking Jamaica holidays in the coming years. Bolt's awe-inspiring performances at the London 2012 Olympic Games coupled with his captivating personality make him an ideal ambassador for Jamaica and by extension the Caribbean.

With the world still on a high from the London 2012 Olympics, the awe-inspiring performance of the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt is still very much fresh in the mind of many. On the back of Bolt’s success, the Jamaican Tourist Board has expressed high hopes that his performance coupled with his captivating personality will result in a substantial increase to the number of travellers booking Jamaica holidays in the future.

Bolt walked away from the 2012 Olympic Games with a gold medal in the 100m, 200m, and 100x4m relay, making him the first man to successfully defend both the 100m and 200m titles at the Olympic Games and further cementing his place in history s one of the greatest athletes. Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill stated, “Interest that has already been created by our sprint legends throughout the years has come to a crescendo with Usain Bolt's unique defense of the titles …The impact of Bolt's performance at the London Olympics will have an effect on the island for many years and will help us to attract more tourists”.

With more than 700, 000 jobs in Jamaica said to be dependent on the tourism industry the island has a lot riding on the sprinting legend. However, Bolt is no stranger to playing ambassador to the Jamaica holidays industry as he anchored three promotional videos for the Jamaican Tourist Board back in 2010 - a year which, according to World Bank data, saw approximately 1,922,000 travellers visit the beautiful Caribbean island. With Bolt’s popularity now stronger than ever, many expect that he will have a similar impact to that of reggae legend Bob Marley.

Undoubtedly, Bolt’s success has placed the Caribbean island of Jamaica firmly in the spotlight and the heightened interest in Jamaica is expected to translate to an increase in the popularity of holidays to Jamaica. The island’s beautiful sandy beaches and the many luxurious resorts in Jamaica will certainly make Bolt’s job easy with Jamaica already a popular Caribbean destination for holidaymakers worldwide.

Only time will tell if Bolt will be able to win over even more holidaymakers to Jamaica similar to the way he won the hearts of so many during his inspired Olympics performances.